Volume 48, Issue 2,
January 2008

It is pivotal for a bank to strictly uphold the common law duty of secrecy and confidentiality owed to its clients (also referred to as "this duty"), in order to uphold a sound reputation in a commercially competitive global market. However, the last decade has seen the enactment of statutory legislation in South Africa which has materially diminished the extent to which bankers can protect and safeguard this duty.

The Children's Act (the Act) became the law from the 01st of July 2007 however sections such as section 33 and 34 dealing with contents and formalities of parenting plans have not yet come into operation.

With the Internet fast taking over our lives it is no surprise that the human race is exploring its capabilities to commit crimes. Although various crimes such as Internet fraud, hacking, cracking and alike are common crimes within the IT environment, certain offences seem unreal to be committed electronically.

In some jurisdictions punitive damages are generally considered appropriate and deterrent punishment for malicious or egregious behaviour; and for the vindication and compensation of rights and freedoms violated. In Fose v The Minister of Safety and Security, the South African Constitutional Court held that there was yet no place for punitive constitutional damages. The Court took a purist approach to the civil and criminal law divide. However, the court obiter stated that punitive damages against private corporations might be justified. In the light of the court's obiter statement and the judgment in Fose v The Minister of Safety and Security, the status of punitive damages appears to be now more vexed. Punitive damages notionally exist in South Africa despite the indication that, in general, punitive damages may not be recovered. Ideally, the South African position on punitive damages could be clarified through legislative intervention. The special features of such legislation should include a special liability trigger clause, and a clause controlling and limiting the amount of damages recoverable.

This article is about the recognition of a foetus' claim for pre-natal injuries. Our law recognises the right of a child to claim damages for injuries suffered prenatally. The main difficulty is whether to apply the nasciturus rule or fiction or the ordinary principles of the law of delict. Pinchin v Santam Insurance Co Ltd 1963 (2) SA 254 (W) and Road Accident Fund v Mtati 2005 (6) SA 215 (SCA) will be considered.

In South Africa, the old age pension system has evolved into a well-developed three-tier system, providing benefits to the majority of the older inhabitants of the country. The three components are the various contributory employment related pension funds, private savings and State Old Age Pension. For the old age pension system to be effective, it is required that these three systems are administered in an integrated manner. Although the system is developed and well suited to provide for the South African population there is a tendency of extensive reliance on the State Old Age Pension component, creating an imbalance that could prove to be disastrous in future.

The Criminological & Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA) Conference with the theme: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice in Africa was held at the University of Pretoria Conference Centre from Monday 27th to Wednesday 29th August 2007.